The Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) is seeking comments on its draft FY2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program. The VLMPO is the designated agency responsible for carrying out federally funded transportation projects in Valdosta and Lowndes County. Created in 2003, the VLMPO Policy Committee selects and approves projects to receive federal funding annually.
The Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, is the short-range plan approved by the VLMPO Policy Committee that allows federal funds to be spent on various transportation projects in the region. The projects are selected from the 2035 Transportation Plan that was adopted in September 2010. Projects in this year’s draft TIP include: the purchase of right-of-way and reconstruction of interchanges on I-75 at Exits 2, 11, 22, and 29; the purchasing of right-of-way to widen Forrest Street, from Park Avenue to Bemiss Road, and the purchase of right-of-way along Jerry Jones Dr. ahead of future construction activities. Also included, for informational purposes only is the construction in Brooks County of a widened SR 133 from Troupville Road to Pauline Church Road, part of a construction corridor extending to Moultrie.
The TIP also includes rural public transit projects in Berrien and Lowndes Counties as well (Brooks County is shows for informational purposes only). Over the next four years the Georgia Department of Transportation and the local communities plan to invest over $700,000 into capital purchases for public transit riders, and more than $2 million in operating these vital public transit systems.
The VLMPO is a transportation planning organization that is responsible for the development of local transportation plans that will utilize federal motor fuel tax revenue to construct projects in Lowndes County and portions of Berrien, Brooks and Lanier Counties. “The VLMPO staff analyzes transportation data, statistics, and public input to develop future transportation projects,” says Corey Hull, MPO Coordinator. “This data and reports are used by local and state officials to help determine which projects to build next.” The VLMPO plans for all forms of transportation including highways, public transit, bike and pedestrian facilities, and freight transportation.
The draft TIP covers federally funded transportation projects to be undertaken in the next four years and includes both highway projects and public transit projects. The TIP is available on the VLMPO website atwww.sgrc.us/transportation and at all local public libraries and government administration offices. The VLMPO is seeking public comment from August 20 through September 3, 2013. Comments can be submitted via phone at 229-333-5277, by email at chull@sgrc.us, or by fax at 229-333-5312.
The VLMPO staff will also host an Open House on August 27, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission office located at 327 W. Savannah Ave. in Valdosta. Hull says, “VLMPO staff will be on hand to answer questions from the public about their transportation concerns. The open house format allows people to quickly get their questions answered without having to sit through a long meeting.”
The VLMPO Policy Committee will discuss the adoption of the TIP at the new regularly scheduled meeting date on September 4, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. All meetings of the VLMPO Policy Committee and its advisory committees are open to the public.
If you have questions or comments please contact Corey Hull, MPO Coordinator at 229-333-5277 or at chull@sgrc.us.
